KKW x Kylie Cosmetics Creme Liquid Lipsticks | Review + Swatches

May 16, 2017 in Makeup

Guys, I tried so hard not to give in to the hype of these, I really did. I had told myself I was done buying Kylie Cosmetics products (I had never had a bad experience, but supporting a company that didn't have the best customer service record felt a little funny to me), but these just drew me in with their beautiful packaging and promise of a creamy, comfortable formula. Plus my friend Jewlie was raving about them, so I needed to see what the fuss was all about.

Let's talk shipping - I've never had any issues with Kylie Cosmetics, like I said above, but this time, my order took a full two weeks to ship. When I hadn't gotten a shipping notification after 14 days, I sent an email to customer service. Within fifteen minutes of sending that email, I got a shipping notification, which felt a little fishy to me. Nevertheless, I got my lipsticks two days later and was a happy camper.

The four liquid lipsticks in a new "creme" formula were done in collaboration with Kim Kardashian West, who is pretty much known as the queen of the nude lip. There are four nude shades, which to the untrained eye might look quite similar, but they're different ok?! There's Kimberly, a true beige-y nude, Kim, a peachy nude, Kiki, a pink nude, and Kimmie, a deeper warm nude. Some people are cringing at KKW naming all four shades after herself, but I wouldn't expect anything less - if they're all her go-to nude shades, why shouldn't they all be named after her? All four shades are beautiful, although Kimberly (and maybe Kim and Kiki, too) might be too light for people with anything deeper than a medium skintone. I love them all except for Kim - it's just a little too peach for me, but I'm passing it along to my sister since it was the one shade in the collection she wanted.

The formula is one of my favorite liquid lips so far. It's not long lasting (I can get maybe two hours before needing to reapply), but it doesn't claim to be. These days, I'd much rather wear a comfortable lip product than something that lasts all day but zaps all moisture from my lips. They have a thin formula that lets a bit of your natural lip shade shine through, which I appreciate in a nude lip - it makes it more wearable for me. Despite not being super pigmented, they aren't streaky and are easy to get an even application. Once on the lips, they feel lightweight and almost moisturizing, like how a creamy bullet lipstick would feel on the lips. They fade evenly over time and wear away while eating, but you're never left with an unsightly ring around your lips. They're easy to reapply without needing to wipe everything off.

The thing I like the most about these is how they look on the lips - they seem to smooth over lines and make my lips look a little fuller and pouty-er. I went into this set being fully skeptical, but Kylie has won me over again.

I got these when they restocked, and I've heard rumors of them being restocked again, but for the time being they're not on the website. I'll update this post if I hear any restocking news, so either keep an eye out here or on Kylie Cosmetics's social media channels. If you love a good nude lip, I'd definitely say these are worth picking up.

Rewriting my Hairstory | Hairstory Review

May 12, 2017 in Hair

I don't talk much about my haircare routine on the blog, and that's because historically I've pretty much been a mess when it comes to my hair. I just can't really get it to do what I want, so over the years I've simply given up and just let it do what it wants. I have a lot of hair, but it's quite fine, so it tends to get oily and weighed down quickly, while the ends get frizzy and dry. Hair products never really excited me all that much, until I was contacted by Hairstory and read up on the brand.

Hairstory is a haircare line and salon started by Michael Gordon, who also founded Bumble and bumble. The whole ethos of the line is to educate people on how shampoo is actually incredibly damaging to your hair, and all the products we use afterward is to correct and hide that damage. It makes sense to me! Hairstory's hero product is the New Wash, quite literally a new way to wash your hair, and their remaining products form a capsule collection that covers any and all bases. For a low-maintenance gal like me, it seemed like a match made in heaven.

When Hairstory contacted me, it was to take part in their campaign #TakeAShowerWithUs, where you would replace your regular shampoo and conditioner with New Wash for 30 days - I dedicated myself to this and replaced all my other usual hair products with Hairstory's line, too. After a month, I couldn't be happier and can't see myself switching back anytime soon.

The New Wash* is their revolutionary way to clean hair - rather than using detergents, it cleans the hair with aloe and essential oils. As you can probably imagine, it smells amazing. It feels like a a conditioner right from the pump, and if you're used to using shampoos that lather up like I was, it'll be a bit of a learning experience. I've found the perfect amount to use for my hair is about 4-5 pumps. You slather it through your hair and spend some time massaging it into your scalp. It doesn't really feel like there's much in your hair at this point, but it's amazing once you rinse it out - it immediately feels like you've already used conditioner. With the New Wash, there's no need for conditioner or masks. My hair went through a little adjustment period with this - it wasn't used to being cleaned so gently, so it was a little oily for my first few washes. But after sticking it out, I couldn't be happier. My hair feels so healthy and soft, and it really brings out its natural wave and texture.

I was super intrigued by the Hair Balm* because it's a leave-in product to tame frizz and enhance texture, and it's meant to be used when airdrying your hair. That's pretty much the only thing I do to my hair, so this was right up my alley. This really brought out my waves, and it even turned them more into curls. I've never been comfortable wearing my hair down right after washing it, but the Hair Balm turned it into my ideal messy-ish waves with no frizz or puffiness.

I love a good texturizing spray, and Undressed* is now my new favorite. It doesn't leave my hair crispy, weighed-down, or sticky, which are problems I often had with other texturizing sprays. This can be used on wet or dry hair, so I usually spray a bit in my roots after I've just washed my hair, and I'll spray a bit more through the lengths on my second-day hair. I've tried using salt sprays that just dry my hair out, but this doesn't at all. My hair is getting quite long, so it can easily weigh itself down and flatten out at my roots while air drying, but spraying this through the roots really helps them stay lifted and gives great volume without being too much.

The last product I got around to trying, but the one styling product that's become my favorite, is Dressed Up.* It's meant to create body and control in the hair, usually when blowdrying. It's a super lightweight lotion texture that spreads through the hair easily. I usually avoid blowdrying my hair as it just puffs up and gets tangled, but using the Dressed Up cream really helped - even with my mediocre blowout skills, my hair didn't end up a huge mess and looked like I knew what I was doing. I've even been using this when I airdry my hair, as it's more lightweight than the Hair Balm, and it works just as well - it doesn't create as much texture as the Hair Balm does, giving it more body and movement instead.

I'm over the moon and totally in love with all four products, and I'm already calculating when I'll need to order a new New Wash. I'm completely converted.

Have you tried any products from Hairstory before?

*I was very kindly sent all four Hairstory products, but all opinions are my own. This is not a sponsored post. Please see my disclaimer for more information.

The Best Bronzers for Pale Skin

May 11, 2017 in Makeup

This post was meant to go up last Thursday, but I didn't get around to writing it. But this works out nicely because I feel like it's a good followup to my review of the Glossier Invisible Shield from yesterday - they just did a post about bronze-y looks yesterday on Into the Gloss, too.

If you've met me/seen a picture of me, you'll probably know that I'm super pale and also quite pink-toned (those Irish genes though). If I don't put some kind of color on my face, I tend to look sick/dead, so I always make sure to use a blush or bronzer or both when I'm wearing makeup. I feel like it's been easier to find flattering shades of blush (especially when I've got my favorite Glossier Cloud Paints to play with), but bronzer is a different story - it's too dark, too orange, too yellow, too muddy. I've finally found a few that I love and that mimic the look of catching a little bit of a tan without even needing to go out into the sun.

The Warm Ones

I have to be careful with warm tones - if I go too far, it's really easy for me to go into Oompa-Loompa territory. A super blendable formula that's not too deep is perfect here, because you need the ability to add just a touch of warmth without going overboard. I've loved the Guerlain Terracotta 'Joli Teint' Bronzing Powder in 00 since I got it last fall. It's a nice shade that adds just a touch of color to the cheeks, and I love swirling the blush shade into it, too, to add a bit of a flush. A stunning and spendy option I couldn't resist was La Mer The Bronzing Powder - it's quite a bit warmer than I was expecting, but it doesn't cross the line into unwearable for me. This is one of the most stunningly blendable powders I've ever tried. I love that there's different sections to mix together - sometimes I avoid mixing in a lot of the second shade to tone down the warmth. If you've been wanting to treat yourself, this is a must for sure. Do be aware though that both of these options are quite fragranced, in case your skin is sensitive to that.

The Neutral Ones

Because of my cool tones, neutral bronzers are the easiest for me to wear. They still add warmth in comparison to my skin, but it never verges on orange. I'm always drawn to cream products, so the Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer in Baked is one of my favorite bronzers. It melts into the skin and blends out super easily with fingers or a brush, so it's perfect on the go. A new addition is the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Nude Bronze Light - this is their new shade meant for fair/light skintones. It adds such a lovely luminous look to the skin, so it's the one I always reach for in a rush. It really eliminates the need for extra blush and bronzer, and it just makes the skin look "done" in one swipe. A foolproof option is the Make Up For Ever Pro Bronze Fusion - they're quite sheer, so it's virtually impossible to go overboard. They have so many shade options, too, so it should be easy to find a good match. I have the shade 15I, which is the lightest luminous one, and they have matte choices as well (they have an M in the shade name).

The Red Ones

Hear me out - you'd probably think you'd want to steer clear of red tones, but if you're pale like me, you might tend to go a little red rather than tan. So a bronzer with more of a red tone is really the most natural-looking option. I've been singing the praises of the Urban Decay Beached Bronzer in Sunkissed since I got it last summer - not only is the compact beautiful, but the product inside is as well. This is the one that turned me on to red-toned bronzers. It gives my skin the most beautiful, just-got-back-from-the-beach flush. My favorite of them all, I think, is the Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder. Again, there's many shades in the line, but I have Elvis Duran. This is also specifically formulated with red tones to emulate the most natural tan. Again, it's actually super flattering on my skin and leaves me looking sunkissed rather than sunburned. The formula is beautiful, pigmented, and blendable as well.

What are your favorite bronzers? What kinds of shades are you normally drawn to?